Vince McMahon Is Responsible for Damien Priest Losing His MCU Debut in Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther Franchise?
John Cena, Dwayne Johnson, Dave Bautista, and more – many professional wrestlers have dipped their toes into the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. However, did you know that there is another wrestler who almost got his Tinseltown citizenship before it was taken away from him? Yes, we are talking about none other than Damien Priest. Not gonna lie, the man sure has the charm needed to woo the audience on the big screen. So, what went wrong?
A few months ago, Damien Priest revealed that he almost had a role in the bag before it slipped from his fingers like sand. The role in question was in Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Panther franchise, and while he didn’t explicitly give a reason behind the loss, he did give us a good idea of what may have happened.
Damien Priest was almost in Black Panther 2
While Damien Priest is yet to make his acting debut, he almost made his way into Hollywood in 2022 with Chadwick Boseman‘s Black Panther franchise. Apparently, he had the role in his bag before it was snatched away from him.
During his appearance on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Priest confirmed that he was indeed cast in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but things didn’t end up working for him. Why? Well, apparently, Marvel Studios had nothing to do with the decision.
He stated, “It’s a long story but basically it got taken away from me, but not from Marvel.” Reading between the lines, the host pointed out that things were different when Black Panther 2 went into production and that “the regime was a little bit different at that time” over at WWE.
This was before Vince McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO and before his resignation from TKO Group Holdings. So, did McMahon have something to do with Priest getting dropped from the movie? Well, while he may not exert absolute control on WWE wrestlers and their intellectual property rights, he is known to have a say in their careers.
For example, John Cena once stated (via The Howard Stern Show) that his name was McMahon’s intellectual property, meaning that the man would get a cut of all the movies Cena would be in. McMahon also once owned Dwayne Johnson‘s ring name, The Rock. Thus, he would get a cut of the royalties anytime the name was used in a movie. When Johnson joined as TKO’s Board of Directors in 2024, he received ownership of the name.
It’s also interesting to note that while Priest didn’t get in BP2, UFC wrestler Kamaru Usman did, and UFC CEO & President Dana White isn’t known to interfere in his wrestlers’ careers.
Will Damien Priest go back to Marvel in the future?
As wrestlers continue to find a place for themselves in Hollywood, or at least wish to, Priest has a lot on his plate right now. With where his wrestling career is right now, the World Heavyweight Champion, Marvel Studios just might have to wait before they can try to reel him in again.
When Chris Van Vliet pointed out that “it could happen now,” Priest stated that he is “busier than ever.” Whatever happens, though, he is pretty content with where he is at the moment. Since the future is a vast land of unending opportunities, Priest might go down that route in the coming years, but right now, he is happy with how things are going for him. After all, he did win at WrestleMania 40. Although WrestleMania 41 didn’t end pleasantly for him.
Priest stated,
Look, come what may, I’m good with it. Maybe I’d do something like that, I go a different route, and I’m not sitting here with you being a world champion, like I won a world championship at WrestleMania, I don’t know if that happens.
With a positive demeanor, the wrestler admitted that it is “not the end of the world” that BP2 didn’t work out for him. However, he did call it a “great” movie. And who knows, with Marvel Cinematic Universe expanding now more than ever, maybe Kevin Feige will find a place for Priest somewhere in the multiverse.
You can currently stream Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney+ (USA).
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